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Corrupted
Corrupted is an encounter in High Tide. Enemies * Corrupted Merfolk Shaman (Corrupted) (100 Gold, 100 XP, 100 Energy, 2 HP) Transcript Introduction "What exactly do you know about the merfolk?" Your question hangs in the air for a moment as you and your fellows-in-arms use your eyepieces to scan the surrounding jungle for any potential ambushes before continuing down the path. "Not much." Jonas shrugs. "They've never exactly been one of the more socially active races in West Kruna." "Maybe that's because people keep trying to, you know, murder them on a regular basis." The red-headed woman with the warhammer who saved you on the pier -- you think Marna is her name -- shifts her grip on her weapon and casts her gaze about. "Right, but why attack us without warning?" Your words spark a memory, long forgotten. "And isn't their society more advanced than being a backwater jungle tribe? I'm pretty sure I remember reading about a group of roving merfolk bards moving King Robert and the East Krunan royal court to tears when they visited." Marna pipes up again. "Another boat I was on traded with a pod of them from time to time. They actually exist as different underwater nation-states. Some of them are far more advanced than the others." You turn and give Marna a questioning look. She meets your gaze and shrugs. "Look, sailors like to gossip. It doesn't matter what race they are." You walk around a corner in the path and are startled to find a merman calmly waiting for you. You flip the eyepiece down from the top of your head and he vanishes from view, seamlessly blending in with the temperature of the ground. When you raise the eyepiece back up, though, he is plainly still there. As opposed to the other merfolk warriors and hunters you've faced, this man isn't wearing any armor. Instead, he is covered in a long robe that seems to shimmer and change color as it shifts in the light. His skin is covered with arcane tattoos and his white dreadlocks hang down to his waist with what appear to be massive shark teeth braided into the ends. "What--" Your unfinished question hangs heavily in the air as the man raises his hand and points at your group. His hair begins to thrash wildly about him, almost as if he were caught in a strong current, but the air around you remains calm as a summer pond. "Shaman!" Marna's shout causes the rest of the crew to dive for cover. "Get down!" You're pretty sure you hear the words only after Marna has tackled you to the ground. There's a horrific tearing sound, and when you look back up there are several spikes of rock stabbing out of the ground where you were standing. If Marna hadn't knocked you down, you would have been skewered where you stood. You look at Marna as she pulls you up from the ground (the second time in a day, you note) and nod your thanks. Turning to face the latest enemy to cross your path, your tone is dry. "So do you think he'd be interested in gossiping with us too?" Marna's expression is clearly unamused. "Oh, shut up." "Yeah," Jonas snickers as he walks past you and calmly raises his ballista. "Nobody likes a smartass." Conclusion "How is he still standing?!" Your words, directed towards Jonas, are more of an accusation than a question. You lean around the tree trunk you're currently hiding behind and sneak a quick glance at the shaman. Dozens of bolts are sticking out of his body, and he is standing in a pool of his own greyish-blue blood. One of his knees has been mostly removed by a ballista bolt, so at least his mobility seems to have been neutralized. There's even a throwing knife jutting from one of his eyes, but the shaman is still standing and throwing destructive magic at anything that catches his attention. Jonas fixes you with a glare. "Oh, I'm sorry. It sounded like you were trying to ask a stupid question, but I missed it. I was too busy filling his body with wooden bolts of pointy death." You snarl in frustration as another lance of energy arcs into a nearby tree trunk, the blast sending wood fragments in every direction. A pained cry draws your attention and you see one of your sailors clutching at a shard embedded in his cheek. "Right." You've had enough of this. You square your shoulders, close your eyes, and take a deep breath in order to calm yourself. Magic has never come as easily to you as to your mother, but a lifetime of training means you're still capable. It takes a few seconds, but you clear your mind and are able to find the calm necessary for channeling arcane energy. You envision the power blossoming out of your chest, traveling down your arms to your hands and building in your fingertips. Your eyes snap open and you look to Jonas. "Draw his attention." Jonas nods, and without question steps into the open and begins firing. The bolts take the shaman in his shoulder, chest, and head. He turns with a spastic jerk and lifts his staff to point towards the gnome. You emerge from the other side of the tree's trunk and raise your hands, releasing the power you've built up. Blue fire blooms from your palms and rages across the clearing. The shaman is engulfed. The flames are hot enough to scorch the ground they pass over, but there is no sound from your target. Eventually, you have no more strength to fuel the flames, and you let them die out. The smoke clears to reveals a skeletal figure kneeling on the ground. The skin on its back roils and lifts up, letting out a faint shriek of pain. As you watch in horror, a section of the shaman's back peels itself from the body and begins to move away from the remains of its host. Fully separated, its shape is revealed to be similar to a starfish with several dead eyes across its back and nasty-looking hooks along its underside. You reach deep and summon up another burst of flame to cook the infernal beast until it's reduced to ash. Marna approaches you from behind. "What in the hells was that?" "I don't know. But I'm pretty certain it can't be good." Category:High Tide